Sunday, January 4, 2015

A couple of things. Happy New Year to everyone, of course! So much has changed. I got a new job - which is great because I will have more time to write! I'm also having a new baby, due in June! While this is awesome, it counters item number one where I would have had more time to write because of my new job -hahaha/sob sob sob/hahaha/sob sob sob. Honestly, my inlaws will be here for a while to help, so I think I can get a book done. After all, I wrote the LA Ninja story in 2 weeks (of course it took a year to edit and refine). We'll see how that turns out, I'll keep you posted.

On the writing front, there was some more excitement. I got a few important reviews for LA Ninja and PUMPS, and you know what my peeps? They have given me great hope, which is why I will definitely keep writing. YES!!!

You can read a great review of PUMPS by the Chicklitclub.com's Lisa O'Meara. She gave me a 7 out of 10 which, if you've read any of their reviews, is pretty awesome. The gals over at chicklitclub are no joke, which is awesome for anyone who wants a no-bullshit review before buying a novel in the genre.

As for LA Ninja, I received a review from a friend of mine who summer's in Jersey. Well, he and his wife also winter, fall, and spring there as well, but it sounds better the way I said it first. Anyways, I sent him a copy of LA Ninja to read and he loved it. Not only that, he sent it to his mom, an English teacher, who loved it so much that they both insist that I try to go with an agent again.

Sigh...about that. It is hard. I tried this before. It takes a lot of hours and effort just to contact the different agent groups and beg for them to answer. I suppose that now I have a lot more clout with over a thousand copies sold and not one single negative review. That must mean something, shouldn't it?

That said, is it the goal to actually have an agent and be published by a big house? Not really. My goal is to get this written into a screenplay (by me or someone else) and get this on the big screen. That is my goal. An agent would be able to help with that. So far, on my own, it's been molassesly slow. Anyways, I'm gonna try again and see what happens.

Lastly, since I'm going to be writing and blogging again, I'm not sure what to write next. PUMPS part 2, or the Vida story -the offshoot from LA Ninja II. If anyone has any suggestions, please email me or comment. Thanks, and I will be seeing y'all soon! -Adrian

Puff Piece Hill

Revolution of the Soul. A Mission Statement.

I am by default, and through no fault of my own, different. I’m not out cruising the boulevard on the weekends, blasting oldies-but-goodies with the homies. I am also not listening to rock en Espanol, speaking in Spanish-only with my friends. I could fit into either stereotype perfectly though, and to an outsider, I probably appear to be from either or both worlds. I have brown skin, which is pretty much all it takes. It’s not that simple though, as others like me surely understand. I speak some Spanish but I also speak perfect English. I went to college. I love hamburgers and fries, and hip-hop, and alternative music. I have simply integrated into American culture from the start, because I was born here, and because I wanted to.

I’m glad that I’m not still stuck in Mexico somewhere, growing up a third world existence, which statistically would have been the case, had my familia never come here. But I am glad to have come from a country and peoples with such a rich and vibrant history. There are many reasons having such a heritage is a good thing, and I am proud to be a part of it. I am glad to have been born here in America, and happy to be part of this system. I’m happier yet that I didn’t grow up as a cholo gang-banging, tagger, too-cool-for school type of guy, even though I’ve had plenty of chances, given my surroundings. That subculture is not all bad either, depending on the level of involvement and the choices one makes. In other words, you can look the part without being a thug, or a social, or immigrant, or anything else, que no? This is true of all life.

So even though I am different, I am by no means alone, and I know this. The problem for me is that I’m not seeing enough representation out there in the media. I’m not seeing a lot of works written, or filmed, for people like me. It annoys me, too, for a lot of political reasons, because our image is grossly misrepresented. Sure the gangbanger cholos are fun to include in film, because violence sells. However, that only perpetuates a false image. These days, it seems as though everyone in this country sees us either as cholos or as immigrants that refuse to assimilate, legal or not. This angers me because we are so many different things including a multitude of diversity within our own subculture. It’s pretty frickin’ beautiful, if everyone only knew…

Either way, I decided to make the changes I wanted to see, on my own. I’m writing stories for me, for you, and for everyone else, and my main characters are all Latino, and not just Mexican-Latino either. My stories are not about quinceaneras or growing up as a pocho in high school. They are not about crossing the border, or starting any revolutions. The only revolution I write about is the Revolution of the Soul. My stories are meant to entertain and inspire people, and hopefully many of you will relate to them in one way or another, and see yourselves there in them, wherever that may be.